Message 497

I just got back from refilling my antibiotic prescription at PAMF. Yesterday I had a cough and was not feeling very good, so Vanessa insisted on bring me a couple of quarts of chicken noodle soup plus big bottles of orange juice and soda. I ate one quart for lunch yesterday, and I will eat the second today. Last night Joshua brought in fish and chips and watched the hockey game with me. The Sharks were behind 4-0 in the second period before they came alive and tied the game 4-4. After that they let down and lost 6-4 to the Kings in LA. After the game it was too late to watch a DVD, so I read some more of my NSA history book. I am now about half way through it. Charlie Rose was great last night, so I think I will watch him again at noon today. It was about the Afghan war. I was especially impressed with Lara Logan. I did not realize she was such an admirable, high-quality person.

Message 496

Yesterday I finished reading The Economist and also this week's Science. Last night I watched the Vikings beat the Packers on Monday Night Football. I was glad to see Bret Favre win. After the game I watched a DVD of the movie Speak. It is about a ninth-grade girl who is raped at a party by an eleventh-grade boy. It is well done, but a little tedious at times. The message is that girls who are raped should speak out. I give it four stars because it deals with an important subject.

Message 495

Yesterday I watched three NFL games. The Raiders completely disgraced themselves in the morning game. The 49ers looked good in the afternoon game, and I can't even remember who played in the Sunday night game. While watching the games I also read some more of The Economist. In the evening I watched another Inspector Lewis episode on PBS.

Message 494

Yesterday I met Jim at Starbucks. Helen is in Seattle to see her granddaughter, Emily. At noon I went to Los Gatos to watch Caroline in her soccer game. Her team won 2-1. In the afternoon I read some more of The Economist. In the evening, I watched the Sharks beat the Ducks, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. After disgracing themselves in their first game, they looked really good last night. When the game was over, I watched a DVD of the movie The Secret Life of Words. It was an unusual movie. It was very slow-paced and understated. Most of the scenes were filmed on an oil platform in the North Sea, where the workers are a bunch of misfits and loners, which was very realistic for that kind of job, in my experience. The only cast member I recognized was Tim Robbins. The plot unfolds very slowly, and only with the last scene do all the plot threads get brought together. It eventually gets to be a very powerful and moving film. I give it four stars.

Message 493

Yesterday was a another quiet day at home. I started reading The Economist and watched the usual news shows on PBS. This National Park series is still messing up the schedule. They did not even show Washington Week. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie The Lucky Ones. It was a road movie about three soldiers home on leave. The only cast member I recognized was Tim Robbins, but they were all good. I give it four stars.

Message 492

Yesterday afternoon I took Beech to his Kung Fu class. Afterward I went with Vanessa and the kids to eat dinner at Round Table Pizza. In the evening I watched the Sharks lose to Colorado in the first game of the new NHL season. The Sharks looked pathetic. I also watched a DVD of the movie Martian Child. I did not realize I had seen it before until I was part way into it. It was not good. John Cusack is usually better than this. I give it 2.3 stars. Andrine called this morning to say she is reserving her house and a condo at Tahoe for next summer.

Message 491

I just got back from having breakfast at Heidi's Pies. I took Annie to day care so Vanessa and I could relax and enjoy our meal. Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Goodbye Solo. It is an unusual independent film with unknown cast and writer/director. It was very well done though, and in spite of the unattractive portrayal of old age, it was an upbeat story. I give it 3.8 stars.